2024 CNPS San Diego Native Garden Tour

It is our 10th Anniversary!

Join us in celebrating the beauty and diversity of San Diego’s native gardens. You will enjoy exploring a vibrant palette of landscape designs in the Poway area, and coastal San Diego, each garden teeming with native plants and the wildlife they attract.

Our 2024 theme is 'Planting Animals,' highlighting the ties between native plants and the animals that rely on them. Planting California natives is the starting point for the web of life connected to our gardens. This includes us too!

This year, we feature the gardens of three visionaries: Dennis and Pamela Mudd in Poway and Jim Smith in Del Mar. Together, they created Calscape, a must-have online tool for the home gardener. Their designs embody Calscape’s mission: 'To restore nature - one garden at a time.'

The 10th Anniversary San Diego Native Garden Tour is a celebration of beautiful landscapes and all the life that depends on them. As gardeners and lovers of native plants, we’ve been given an opportunity to help nature thrive. Let the beauty of San Diego's native plant gardens inspire you to strengthen your relationship with the natural world.

About the Gardens

The tour gardens are situated in two distinct areas within San Diego County—one along the coast and the other inland. Each area is open for visitation on separate days, and your ticket allows access to both.

Saturday, April 6, from 9AM to 4PM: Explore gardens in Rancho Bernardo, Poway, Miramar Ranch North, and Scripps Ranch.
Sunday, April 7, from 9AM to 4PM: Discover gardens in La Jolla, North Clairemont, University City, Del Mar, and Solana Beach.

Tickets

Tour Tickets

Regular Price Tickets: $40 - Available through April 7th, 2024.
Free Entry for children aged 17 and under!

Every ticket includes a tour booklet that will be mailed to you in early March and serves as your access pass for both days. People who have purchased tickets after March 1st will be able to pick up their booklets at the March 20th CNPS San Diego chapter meeting or Will Call gardens during the tour.

Special Event Tickets

Arnold Fundraiser

CNPS San Diego Native Garden Tour Special Price Tickets Available

Horticulture/botany students
Group tickets packs of 4 or 10

Buy Special Price Tickets Here

Special Tour Events

Saturday, April 6

Take the family on a docent guided tour of the Kumeyaay-Ipai Interpretive Center demonstration garden representing local plant life from 2,000 years ago. Explore the trails, native huts, grinding holes (metates) and the culture of Poway’s First People. 13104 Ipai Waaypuk Trail, Poway RSVP at ARansom@poway.org or call 858-668-4781. Space is limited.

Sunday, April 7

Enjoy coastal native garden views on a guided tour of Native Del Mar Garden by founder and creator Tyden Chinowsky. This garden began as his Bar mitzvah project and has expanded with help from fellow students and family. Truly beautiful! April 7th, 11 am. 130-210 S Camino Del Mar, Del Mar

Garden Tour FAQs

Tickets, Accessibility, Visiting Details, and Guidelines

Ticket Refunds and Purchase:

Refunds for tickets are not available; however, you can transfer them to a friend or family member.
On-the-day tickets are possible if the tour hasn't sold out. You can obtain them at Will Call gardens or the CNPS San Diego Bookstore.

Garden Tour Details:

Gardens are open on specific days: Inland gardens (Poway area) on Saturday, April 6th, and coastal gardens on Sunday, April 7th.
You may visit 5-8 gardens comfortably in a day out of the 12-15 open. Use the tour booklet to choose preferred gardens.
The tour is self-guided. Before the tour date, you'll receive a Google Garden Tour Map link and a Tour Booklet PDF to plan your route.

Accessibility and Attendees:

Most gardens have full or partial disabled access, indicated in the tour booklet.
Children aged 17 and under have free admission. Families are encouraged to explore the gardens together.

Restrictions and Facilities:

Pets are not allowed on the tour, except for service dogs with clear identification.
Restrooms aren't available in the gardens. Seek nearby public facilities in restaurants, parks, coffee houses, or gas stations.

Calling All Garden Tour Volunteers

Be a part of this year’s garden tour by volunteering! We need garden docents to assist with a variety of tasks to make this a wonderful experience for visitors. The perks include making new friends, garden previews, complementary tour tickets, and more.

Interested? Volunteer here: Garden Tour Docent Sign Up

Save the date for the volunteer training sessions: Wednesday, March 20th and Saturday, March 23rd in the morning

Artists in the Gardens Coming Soon!

Planting Animals

Explore the Stories of our six Plant-Animal Ambassador Pairs

Native plants and animals have evolved together in a dance of give and take. In some cases, survival of one species depends on the survival of the other. When we plant natives, we are also planting the animals that depend on them, and together they help maintain a healthy biodiversity in our neighborhoods.

Sometimes the dramas between species are hidden from view. To help tell their stories, we have selected six ambassador plant-animal pairs from six different San Diego County habitats to examine in detail. Chloe Van Loon will explore these special relationships, crafting short stories that will bring them to life. We will be releasing these stories in the upcoming weeks to inspire as many people as possible to consider these pairs when designing their own gardens. We will also provide lists of companion plants for each pair. Planting these will help establish a more complete habitat in your home garden.

It’s a fact that native plants attract more wildlife. We encourage you to plant as many as possible and to be on the lookout for your own plant-animal stories!